Instructive and demonstration apparatus or toy for the construction of various electric machines and devices



March 14, 1944. v T Q 2,344,438

INSTRUCTIVE AND DEMONSTRATION APPARATUS ORTOY FCR THE CONSTRUCTION OF VARIOUS ELECTRIC MACHINES AND DEVICES Filed April 29, 1959 MENTOR nAumcE LATOUR wwmflg c NGYS Patented Mar. 14, 1944 INSTRUCTIVE AND DEMONSTRATION APPA- RATUS OR TOY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF VARIOUS ELECTRIC MACHINES AND DEVICES Maurice Latour, La Varenne-Saint-Hilaire, France; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application April 29, 1939, Serial No. 270,788 In France May 9, 1938 4 Claims.

ihe present invention relates to an instructive and demonstration apparatus or toy for the construction of various machines and devices, having a plurality of circumferential elements.

There are toys comprising independent mechanical and electrical members which a young constructor can assemble according to his own design, or according to directions accompanying a box containing the various members. In such demonstration apparatus or toys, there are difficulties of a mechanical order. In fact, the assembling of the various parts, particularly when centering is necessary, is extremely diflicult and great accuracy cannot be attained. In these conditions, even with correct electric assemblages, the machines constructed do not work or work badly, thus rapidly discouraging the young constructor.

The problem which the applicant has solved consists in providing means for the construction of such machines and devices, by means of simple mechanical elements and elementary electrical machine frame parts, while practically eliminating the main mechanical diificulties and leaving only the electrical connections to be considered.

One of the main-mechanical difficulties, is in the correct centering of rotors relatively to stators.

An important feature of the present invention consists in means for setting up a longitudinal axis and several radial axes at right angles to the longitudinal axis and uniformly distributed about the latter, which consists of a member about which are mounted various outer elements, said member being then removed to permit the assembling of inner elements. Thus the outer elements are correctly centered relatively to the inner elements.

In the form of construction, illustrated in the drawing, the removable member determines three axes at right angles to one another and has, for that purpose, the shape of a Greek or a St. Andrews cross, the ends of which are bent down on one and the same side, the central part being perforated as well as the bent down ends for setting up the three above mentioned axes.

The removable assembling member carries external stays on which are mounted the outer elements at a suitable distance from said member.

The outer elements which, after assembling form the fixed unit of the machine are rectilinear, arcuate, right-angle, V, or other suitably shaped plates, the ends of which are provided with notches or oblong and longitudinally arranged slots.

In the drawing, Figs. 1 to 4 are perspective views illustrating four steps in the use of my device for assembling a stator and bearings for a rotor to be installed therein.

As illustrated in the drawing, use is made, of a member I in the shape of a Greek cross the ends of the branches of which are bent down at right angles to form projections 2, from one side of the member I.

The member I is axially perforated at 3 for determining an axis 4 and the bent down ends 2 are also perforated for determining two axes 5 and 6. These axes 5 and 6, located in one and the same plane, are at right angles to one another and to the axis 4. By means of tubular stays l, secured on the projections 2 by screws 8, the axes 5 and B are set up and the distance at which the machine elements are to be mounted relatively to the axis 4 is accurately determined.

The stays I are provided, at their outer ends, with shoes or seating members 9 on which are mounted arcuate plates I 0 the ends of which are provided with longitudinal oblong notches I l. The arcuate plates l0 are secured to the stays l by screws l2 and they are connected by identical intermediate plates secured by bolts l4 and nuts 15. An outer unit is thus obtained which is perfectly centered relatively to the axis 4. The assemblage above described is illustrated in Fig. 1.

In order to effect the placing in position of the bearings or supports of a rotor on the axis 4, the two vertical stays T on the axis 5 are removed, and member I is caused to rotate through degrees about the axis 6 to bring it to the position shown in Fig. 2. For correctly placing said member I in its new position, the rod la is mounted in the central perforation 3 of member 5, and top and bottom plates l0, said rod being temporarily held stationary at its ends at the plates ill, on the axis 5, by nuts l8. The perforations provided in the projections and which determined the position of the axis 5 in Fig. 1, are now positioned on the axis 4 in Fig. 2. The screws ii. on the axis 6 are then looked for holding the member I stationary in position and the rod to is removed.

Reference will now be made to Fig. 3 in which the axis 4 is set up by a rod 4 for the correct assembling of one of the bearings of a rotor. For that purpose, use is made of bent plates I9 and rectilinear plates 20, these plates being provided at their ends with longitudinal oblong notches or holes as previously indicated for plates I0.

As illustrated in Fig. 4, the assembling of the other bearing is then effected, in a similar mannor to that previously indicated with reference to Fig. 3.

For facilitating the assembling of the outer unit, as particularly indicated in Fig. 1, between the outer seating members 9 rigid with the stays 1, and the plates l0, there can be interposed ele ments 23. These elements 23 prevent eccentric assembling of the outer unit relatively to the axis 4. Thus as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, the elements 23 provide for correctly assembling feet 25 forming a base.

The outer unit being perfectly centered relatively to the longitudinal axis 4, the member I is removed so that, the various electrical elements can :be mounted in the fixed outer unit, and then the rotor can be installed.

The mechanical assembling of the various ele ments is effected without any difliculty and with very great accuracy, and the young constructor can give all his attention to the placing of the electrical elements and to the completion of the electrical connections. If the machine constructed fails to work, the mistakes in the assembling do not arise from the mechanical construction, but only from the electrical connections.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an instructive and demonstration apparatus or toy for the construction of various electric machines and devices, a central removable member, a longitudinal rod. for setting up a longitudinal axis, means for removably mounting said longitudinal rod on said member, radial rods for setting up radial axes, and means for removably mounting said radial rods on said memher so that said radial rods are at right angles to the longitudinal rod and uniformly distributed about the latter so that the outer elements of the apparatus can be assembled by means of said rods, said outer elements being thus perfectly centered relatively to said central member and so that after dismantling said central member and said rods, the inner apparatus can be assembled which is thus perfectly centered relatively to the outer unit.

2. In an instructive and demonstration apparatus or toy for the construction of various electric machines and devices, a removable central member in the form of a Greek cross of St. Andrews cross the ends of which are bent down on one end and the same side, the central part and the bent down ends being each provided with a perforation, a longitudinal rod engaged in the perforation of the central member for setting up a longitudinal axis, means for removably connecting said longitudinal rod to said member, four radial rods engaged in the perforations of the bent down parts of the central member and means for removably connecting said radial rods to said member so that said radial rods are at right angles to the longitudinal rod, in order that the outer elements of the apparatus can be a sembled by means of said rods, said outer elements being thus perfectly centered relatively to said central member, and so that after dismantling said central member and said rods, the inner apparatus can be assembled which is thus perfectly centered relatively to the outer unit.

3. In an instructive and demonstration apparatus or toy for the construction of various electric machines and devices, a removable central member in the form of a Greek cross or St. Andrews cross the ends of which are bent down on one and the same side, the central part and the bent down ends being each provided with a perforation, a longitudinal member engaged in the perforation of the central member for setting up a longitudinal axis, means for removably connecting said longitudinal member to said member, four radial members engaged in the perforations of the bent down parts of the central member and means for removably connecting said radial members to said member so that said radial members are at right angles to the longitudinal member, in order that the outer elements of the apparatus can be assembled by means of said members, said outer elements being thus perfectly centered relatively to said central memher, and so that after dismantling said central member and said members, the inner apparatus can be assembled which is thus perfectly centered relatively to the outer unit, at least some of said longitudinal radial members being rods and the other members being tubes.

4. In a device for use in assembling one or more parts adapted to make up a substantially circular element of a machine, the combination of a connecting member having a body and a plurality of pairs of projections from said body, the body and each projection having a perforation, the perforations on each pair of projections being concentric to a common axis, and all of said axes being at right angles to the axis to which the perforation of the body is concentric; and a connecting means mounted on each of said projections, concentric with the axis of the perforation of the projection, so that the said one or more parts can be assembled by being mounted on said connecting means.

MAURICE LATOUR.

. CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION; Petent No. 2, L L L 8. March 1L, 191m.

' MAURICE LATOUR."

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the abovenumbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2, first column, line 51+, claim 2, after "cross" for "of" read or--; line 56, same claiin, after "one" strike out "end"; and-that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 9th day of May, A. D. 191-114..

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting commissioner of Patents. 

